Friday 27 December 2013

THE AUDI IN MOROCCO MOVIE IS UP!


Here's the link to the movie we saw being made in Morocco of the Blue Audi with some of the Moroccan landscape we drove through on the day.

Er, I can't change the colour of the link.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x18t832_essai-audi-rs-q3_auto


My thanks to Florian the cameraman who shot this.

Hope you like it!

LISBON


IT'S A TRAM THING

15TH DECEMBER 2013


Lisbon. A charming city of trams and dog turds. It really is a charming city but the navigational hazards for pedestrians are extreme.

Anna runs a very classy B&B which we had all to our selves. Great to cook a meal in for once.

Three nights in Lisbon then TAP to Gatwick.

ART GALLERY
TRAM HOME

TRAM TERMINUS

THE FAMOUS BELEM CAFE
PORTUGUESE EXPLORERS
OUR BUILDING AND STREET
CITY VIEW
TUK TUK WITH TILING
MARKET STALL
TAXI TO THE AIRPORT FOR BLIGHTY

Thursday 19 December 2013

VILA NOVA DE MILFONTES

BEACH WALKS AND THE LUXURY OF A HIRE CAR FOR A FEW DAYS

ON TOP OF FOIA UNDER THE MILITARY RADAR
MONDAY 9TH DEC 2013
 Faro airport was very quiet when we picked up our hire car but it is clearly built for a major influx of summer hordes. The hire car concourse although empty, went on and on.

Once at the wheel of our Fiat Punto, we went back the short distance to Olhao, loaded our bags and headed north for Vila Nova de Milfontes. Foia is the Algarve's highest mountain. We took a detour via Monchique to drive to the top. The summit was something of an anticlimax, it was freezing cold with clouds whistling through the wires of the telecommunicaion equipment. We jumped out, took a selfie and drove our way back down.

We checked in for three nights with our airbnb hosts, a lively Spanish couple who took us in like family. Luckily, their son was visiting as he was the only English speaker although Anne spoke French with Javier's wife.

Vila Nove de Milfontes is a lovely beach and riverside town, clearly a big favourite in summer. Anne and I walked a number of beaches with our best discovery being Alteirinhos beach with it's rocks and cliffs.

VILA NOVA DE MILFONTES ON THE RIVER MIRA WITH FORT CONSTRUCTED IN 1600 BECAUSE OF NASTY PIRATES
COLD BUT GOOD

NOT PAINT BUT QUARTZ
VILA NOVA DE MILFONTES

ANNE ON ALTEIRINHOS BEACH
ALTEIRINHOSS
ALTEIRINHOSS SAND CALLIGRAPHER
ALTEIRINHOSS CIRCLE WORK
CIRCLING AT ALTEIRINHOSS

OF COURSE, I COULD HAVE HELD IT ALL DAY....





OUR HOSTS AT VILA NOVA DE MILFONTES

Wednesday 18 December 2013

DAY TRIP TO CULATRA, PORTUGAL


 WINTER RECESS IN FAROL

THURSDAY 5TH DECEMBER 2013


Ilha da Culatra is a sand island, a short ferry ride from the dock at Olhao. It's a bustling, working fishing village at it's core with a holiday house section at Farol, the lighthouse end of the island.

It's stunningly gorgeous and cast somewhere back in time. It also has the cheapest espresso in Europe. We spent a day on the island including walking the eight kilometres return from the ocean side up the beach to Farol and back to the ferry wharf. ('Farol' meaning 'lighthouse' in Portuguese)

The island is 6 kilometres long with no roads or vehicles save for tractors on the beach. It's interlaced with walkways and there are about 1,000 inhabitants on the island year round.

We managed to mistime our return walk from Farol by about five minutes and missed our ferry which suited me fine though I'm not sure Anne was too impressed. We waited another hour forty five for the next one which gave me time to enjoy a beer, take a walk, take some more pics and get to know the local tough as nails pussy cat. I first saw him walking in a circle on the sand before I realised he was pretty much blind. Chewed off ears, bashed up and decidedly lean, he fends for himself and keeps the local dogs at bay which must happen every day of his life.

CULATRA FISHING PORT
ON THE BOARDWALK ACROSS TO THE OCEAN SIDE
SUMMER SHADE PLATFORM, FAROL
SELFIE NUMBER 627
NO IDEA WHETHER THEY ARE REALLY THERE FOR BIRDS OR SEASIDE-NESS
FAROL HOLIDAY HOUSE MAIN DRAG
3.4 METER TIDES GIVES A BIG TIDAL RUN
LOOKING NORTHEAST DOWN THE ISLAND

ALL EMPTY, WAITING FOR SUMMER

LOW PROFILE HOUSING
EMPTY FAROL STREET IN WINTER
NAVY STILL BOBBING ABOUT WHILE THE CREW DO CIRCLE WORK IN THE RIB
FAROL ARCHITECTURE

SANDPIPER? ON WAY BACK TO MISSING OUR FERRY

FISHING BOATS WITH GOOD SIZE OUTBOARDS

TRAKKY DAKS IS THE REGULATION UNIFORM TO WORK ON THESE BOATS

THE TOUGH OLD CAT OF CULATRA
STANDING HIS GROUND
STILL CRUISING
STILL FENDING OFF THE SAME DOG
THE FISHING VILLAGE OF CULATRA
GEAR SHACKS

CULATRA TILES

ANNE PONDERS WHETHER IT'S BIN NIGHT


WAITING FOR THE NEXT FERRY

CULATRA WORKING BEACH FRONT
FINALLY BACK ON THE FERRY TO OLHAO WITH FAROL LIGHTHOUSE FLASH